Views & Analysis

Today, the Supreme Court held that a Massachusetts law creating a 35-foot buffer zone for patients at clinics that provide abortions was too broad, but affirmed that laws in line with the Federal Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act are valid, and implied that smaller anti-harassment zones could be valid. Buffer zones are important protectors of patient safety and clinic access, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights joined the National Women’s Law Center and several other organizations on an amicus brief arguing that buffer zones are content-neutral and do not violate the First Amendment Right to Free Speech.